There are so many stunning customised V-twins in Daytona Beach during Bike
Week that a standard production bike has to be pretty special to stand out
from the crowd. And the Victory Hammer certainly turned plenty of heads as
it thundered down the Daytona streets.

As I dropped the Hammer's clutch at
the lights and charged away at the head of the pack, with the big V-twin
motor churning out low-rev torque through the gigantic back tyre, and the
Florida sunshine glinting off chrome and custom-style paintwork, the big
Victory felt mighty good.

With its 1634cc V-twin engine putting down power through a six-speed
transmission and a gigantic 250-section rear radial, the Hammer includes
features that Harley-Davidson doesn't yet fit as standard. Add to those
attractions the Hammer's neat, flowing styling, and it's easy to see why
Victory is now making quite an impact in the States, after a difficult
start.

The Hammer is rolling proof that Victory has its finger on the pulse of
American motorcycling, in a way that the firm certainly didn't a decade ago
when it was created as the two-wheeled division of snowmobile giant Polaris.
Victory's first bike, the V92C, was a capable cruiser that handled well but
looked too dull to be a hit in the style-obsessed cruiser world.

Three years ago Victory made a big leap forward with the Vegas, a much
classier looking machine designed with the help of custom legend Arlen Ness
and his son Cory. The Ness touch transformed the ugly duckling V92, giving
Victory a sales boost that contrasted with the declining fortunes of
one-time rival American marques Indian and Excelsior-Henderson, both of
which have now ceased production.

When Victory was looking for a way to develop the Vega, the temptation
must have been to join the cruiser manufacturers' capacity race, against the
likes of Kawasaki's VN2000 and Triumph's Rocket III triple. Instead the
Minnesota firm took its inspiration from the modifications that many Harley
owners were making to their bikes. Top of the aftermarket wish-lists - and
especially popular with the chopper crowd - were six-speed gearboxes and
ultra-fat rear tyres, so Victory added both features to the Hammer.

Victory couldn't resist enlarging the V92 engine while they were at it.
Boring out the sohc, four-valves-per-cylinder engine by 4mm gave dimensions
of 101 x 102mm and increased capacity from 1507cc to 1634cc, or from 92 to
100 cubic inches in American. While they were at it, they increased
compression ratio from 9.2 to 9.7:1, and fitted new camshafts for extra
low-rev torque.

Along with the extra cog in the gearbox, the Hammer motor got slimmer
crankcases, quieter-running camchains, and a smaller sump that allowed the
chassis to be made narrower. The fuel injection system was also revised.
Victory don't issue power figures but rear-wheel output is slightly up on
the Vegas's figure at just under 80bhp.

Victory did very little to alter the Vegas's distinctive shape or its
twin-downtube, steel-framed chassis layout. But the Hammer gets upside-down
front forks and twin 300mm discs with four-pot Brembo calipers, instead of
the Vegas's conventional forks and single disc. And then there's that
gigantic rear Dunlop Elite 3 radial, so fat it looks as though it'd be more
at home on a car than a bike.

This test bike also benefited from a few parts from Victory's accessory
catalogue, including classy billet aluminium wheels, a chromed swing-arm and
a pair of slash-cut open silencers that made a gorgeous and thoroughly
antisocial note. Well, this was Daytona, after all, and one quiet bike would
have stood out among the many tens of thousands of noisy ones for all the
wrong reasons...

Instead the Hammer felt mighty good as I rumbled round Daytona, its
eye-catching looks fully justifying the Victory ad-line that it "hits you
like a chromed-out knuckle sandwich". Neat details include the V-shaped
handlebars and twin white-faced dials in the instrument panel, the
chromed-and-dimpled covers between the Vee of the cylinders on either side,
and the classy rear light, which is built into the tailpiece.

The Hammer lived up to its name by hitting hard in a straight line, too,
both when leaving the lights and when being opened up at higher speeds. The
motor gets into its stride at about 2500rpm, and from that point on it's
mighty strong, with crisp throttle response and a pleasant, non-intrusive
V-twin vibration from the 50-degree, balancer-shaft equipped motor. The new
six-speed gearbox generally worked well, though in town it occasionally
needed a quick left-boot shuffle to find neutral, perhaps because the
reasonably firm-action clutch was dragging very slightly. That overdrive
sixth ratio certainly helped keep revs down at cruising speeds, too, meaning
the Hammer was chugging lazily along at just 2800rpm at an indicated 80mph.
Yet the Victory still had enough low-rev stomp in hand to thunder away from
that speed, heading for a top speed of about 130mph.

Keeping up a cruising speed of much more than 70mph wouldn't be fun for
long due to the high and wide riding position, which puts feet well forward
and almost all the rider's weight on the seat. At least the Hammer can
quickly be fitted with touring accessories, including a snap-on windshield
and a saddle with built-in rider's backrest.

Curves are pretty hard to come by near Daytona but eventually I found a
few, and the Hammer proved as good as most cruisers. That's despite the huge
rear boot, which inevitably slowed steering that was already hardly
lightning quick due to the long 1676mm wheelbase and kicked-out rake angle
of 32.9 degrees.

The ultra-wide rear end took a little getting used to, especially in
town. When changing direction the Victory needed a firm push on the
handlebars, and then a constant slight pressure to keep the big bike
tracking through a turn.

In a way that's a bit of a shame because the Hammer's sturdy frame and
upside-down forks, increased ground clearance due to the narrower engine and
frame, and reasonably firm spring and damping rates would otherwise have
made it one of the better-handling big cruisers. As it is, the slimmer-tyred
Vegas is more manageable if you don't mind its relatively emaciated view
from the rear.

The Hammer has the edge on braking, though, thanks to that pair of
four-pot Brembo calipers biting on 300mm discs, with help from braided lines
plus the rear disc with its abundance of rear-rubber contact patch. Few
cruisers stop any harder, despite the Victory's near 300kg of dry weight.

Most details are well sorted, too, notably the excellent quality of paint
and chrome, and touches including the pillion seat cover and simple yet
effective mirrors and switchgear. Victory has been building snowmobiles for
half a century, so knows a bit about making weather-resistant machinery that
should cope well with this country's un-Florida-like climate. Building a new
American cruiser brand in the shadow of Harley-Davidson ain't easy, as the
failure of Indian and Excelsior-Henderson has shown. But the Hammer suggests
that Victory is on the right track. At £12,995 it costs £1300 more than the
Vegas at Victory's half-dozen UK dealerships, but that money buys a bike
with a unique blend of performance and custom style.

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